Oftentimes, the content of a webpage is dynamic in nature. In some cases, changes to the content occur every few moments, as updated information is placed on a webpage. For example, stock market tickers and live camera feeds seen across the Internet may frequently send updated information to a web browser. This permits a nearly continuous media stream, which in turn keeps an observer informed of up-to-the-minute or time-critical events.
Many current implementations of dynamic webpages require that the webpage be frequently refreshed in order to display the newest information. A refresh action may be automatic (e.g., initiated by a timer) or may be initiated manually by the user. Manually refreshing a webpage consumes the user's time and attention. Additionally, refreshing a webpage requires that the entire webpage be reloaded, introducing significant time losses from retransmitting information that has not changed.
An alternate method of continuously updating a webpage includes the use of Java applets to receive information transmitted by an application program running on a remote server, hereinafter referred to as a “server-side application.” Typically, the server-side application generates dynamically updated content that is then requested by or otherwise transmitted to a Java applet executed by a web browser at a local network client. By implementing a server-side application in combination with a local Java applet, the requirement of user intervention to refresh a page may be eliminated. However, this implementation is limited by the fact that the Java applet may only make changes to itself or to objects displayed within the applet. In the case where an object requiring updating is not a part of the applet, a user-initiated manual refresh is again required, or the Java applet must make use of the browser feature known as “LiveConnect”. LiveConnect is a technology that allows a Java applet to communicate with JavaScript objects, and/or plug-in objects. Many web browsers, however, do not support the use of Java applets or the “LiveConnect” feature.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a method of updating objects contained within a webpage without requiring either a manual or automatic refresh of the webpage or the use of a Java applet.